On Writing

Sharp and moving reflections and ruminations on the artistry and craft of writing from one of our most iconoclastic riveting and celebrated masters.Charles Bukowski’s stories poems and novels have left an enduring mark on our culture. In this collection of correspondence—letters to publishers editors friends and fellow writers—the writer shares his insights on the art of creation.On Writing reveals an artist brutally frank about the drudgery of work and canny and uncompromising about the absurdities of life—and of art. It illuminates the hard-edged complex humanity of a true American legend and counterculture icon—the “laureate of American lowlife” (Time)—who stoically recorded society’s downtrodden and depraved. It exposes an artist grounded in the visceral whose work reverberates with his central ideal: “Don''t try.”Piercing poignant and often hilarious On Writing is filled not only with memorable lines but also with Bukowski’s trademark toughness leavened with moments of grace pathos and intimacy.